For South African gay star, defiance is key to survival

For South African gay star, defiance is key to survival

It was the level of hate from his own Xhosa community that took South African gay artist Nakhane by surprise.

He never expected to face death threats for playing a man in a same-sex relationship in a movie, "The Wound", which unfolds in the secret world of a Xhosa male initiation ceremony - but it was the setting that appeared to anger people the most.

"I know my people because I come from them and I know about the passion they have about protecting this part of the culture," Nakhane, 30, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview in London, where he is currently living.